If there ever was the Perfect Time to make your first start in the National Football League, you may want to do it against the 2025 Las Vegas Raiders.
For Shedeur Sanders, that perfect timing becomes his reality on Sunday as the fifth-round pick will lead the Cleveland Browns to battle against Pete Carroll and his 2-8 Las Vegas Raiders.
Sanders wasn’t exactly ready for primetime last week when he was thrust into action to replace an injured Dillon Gabriel against the Baltimore Ravens. The 23-year-old completed just four of 16 passes, in a 23-16 loss.
That has led to several questions around the Browns’ starting QB this week.
Let’s dive into Shedeur’s chances of bouncing back this week, go over an underdog to consider, and discuss my thoughts on taking the Baltimore Ravens in survivor.
These are three burning questions for Week 12 of the NFL season.
**PERFECT TIMING**
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**“What can we expect from Shedeur Sanders’ in his first start?”**
It certainly wasn’t the NFL debut that Sanders was hoping for last Sunday, but a rookie QB getting forced into that spot against a desperate team fighting to stay in playoff contention is a much different test than playing the woeful Vegas group with a week to prep.
Sanders’ biggest priority Sunday afternoon will be ensuring Maxx Crosby doesn’t wreck the game. If he can limit Crosby’s impact, I believe Shedeur has the talent to rise to the occasion.
I also believe he has the mindset to not let an opportunity like this get to his head. We saw late against Baltimore that Sanders was able to move the ball down the field before the drive stalled but that wasn’t due to poor QB play, it was just the Ravens making plays.
A same game parlay of Sanders to throw for more than 157.5 passing yards with at least one passing touchdown is currently +140 at FanDuel.
In 10 games this season, only one starting quarterback has failed to reach 200 passing yards and one passing touchdown against Vegas.
I have played that SGP, and have also played Sanders 2+ throwing TDs (+400), 200+ passing yards (+270) and anytime touchdown (+490).
**Dog Of The Week**
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**“Other than the Browns, what is your favourite underdog this week?**
With the trio of Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and George Pickens, the Dallas Cowboys’ offence is playing some of the best ball in the league and should give the Philadelphia Eagles another run for their money.
On the other side, despite winning the Super Bowl last season and starting this year 8-2, the vibes in Philly are just off, and this team feels overdue for a loss, having won four straight.
If it weren’t for a few key drops in Week 1, Dallas might already have a win against the Eagles this season, and Prescott hasn’t lost at home to an NFC East team since 2017.
I’ll take Dallas plus the points, and I’ll also sprinkle them on the moneyline.
**Survive and Advance**
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**“You’ve made it this far, who’s your survivor team for Week 12?”**
I’ll be rolling out the Baltimore Ravens in survivor this week as 13.5-point favourites against the New York Jets.
The only other team I considered this week was the Seattle Seahawks as 13-point favourites at Tennessee. But, with the Ravens 5-5 and three-straight divisional games looming, this is the right time to ride with Lamar Jackson. Meanwhile, Seattle could come in handy later in the season (Week 14 at Atlanta and Week 17 at Carolina) if I’m fortunate to make it that far.
I must admit though, with the news of Tyrod Taylor starting instead of Justin Fields, I am a tad concerned about the Ravens winning despite them being the largest favourite at FanDuel this week.
Baltimore’s -1400 odds to win come with an implied probability of 93.3 per cent. I’ll be adding New York +13.5 Sunday afternoon, hoping this game lands somewhere in the middle of a Ravens win and Jets cover.